The House of Representatives approved a defense appropriations bill for fiscal year 2017 on Thursday that was led by U.S. Reps. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ) and Kay Granger (R-TX).
The bill would allocate $517.1 billion in discretionary funding for defense, a $3 billion increase from the previous and $587 million below the president’s budget request.
Frelinghuysen, the chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, said that the U.S. must guarantee that the armed forces and the intelligence community have the resources to defeat Islamic terrorist groups in an increasingly dangerous world.
“Over the past several years, our military and intelligence community has largely focused on the dangers posed by Islamic terrorist organizations — al Qaeda, the barbaric ISIS, Al Nusra and others,” Frelinghuysen said. “They remain a clear and present danger. But in recent years, new threats have emerged including a more aggressive and more capable Russia, an expansionist China, emboldened states like Iran and rogue nations like North Korea. At the same time, our readiness levels are alarmingly low for our soldiers, Marines, sailors and airmen, our decisive technological edge over our adversaries is eroding and our adversaries’ resolve and capability are only growing. Our FY 2017 Defense Appropriations bill begins to reverse these trends by providing more funding for national security.”
Granger applauded the bill’s inclusion of funding for 74 new F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, which is expected to provide 129,000 jobs in Texas.
“The United States and our allies continue to face threats from countries such as Iran, Russia, China and North Korea,” Granger, the vice chairwoman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, said. “Radical Islamic terrorists, such as ISIS, continue to threaten everything we stand for.”
The bill also outlines $58.6 billion in Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO)/Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) funding, approximately $16 billion of which will be used to improve readiness and meet training needs.
“With the recent attack in Orlando and increasing threats from terrorist organizations, it is no time to play politics with the safety of Americans,” U.S. Rep. Will Hurd (R-TX), who served over nine years as an undercover CIA officer, said. “Providing for the common defense of our nation is a constitutional duty for Congress and a sacred responsibility.”
U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin (R-ME) was also successful on the House floor in urging his colleagues to vote down an amendment that would have stripped critical language meant to protect 900 jobs in Central Maine. The language reinforces the existing Berry Amendment.
“This is a milestone victory in the fight for 900 hardworking Mainers in Norway, Skowhegan and Norridgewock,” Poliquin said. “I thank all of my colleagues in the House for voting for American jobs and American workers, despite pressure from powerful special interest groups. This critical language will make sure that our U.S. taxpayer dollars go to U.S. workers and families, not to manufacturers overseas. I will continue to fight tooth and nail through every process until this critical language is signed into law.”
U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX), the chairman of the House Rules Committee, said that the process used to draft the Department of Defense appropriations bill “made sure that members of the House had the opportunity to thoughtfully discuss a number of issues.”
“We are living in a world where ISIS is on the rise and radical Islamist terrorists will stop at nothing to destroy our freedom and way of life,” Sessions said. “Now more than ever it is of the utmost importance that our national defense has the resources necessary to protect Americans both at home and abroad. Providing for a strong military is one of my highest priorities, and I am pleased that this bill responsibly funds our nation’s armed forces and uses taxpayer dollars wisely without jeopardizing the safety, security or success of our troops and their families.”